I also welcome back all my colleagues and staff.

I had not planned to speak about the policing issue. I look forward to studying the report, which has been welcomed in principle by my party's justice spokesman, Deputy O'Callaghan.

I echo what Senator Feighan stated in respect of supporting the Garda. It is incumbent on us as elected representatives, especially in the Oireachtas, to stand by and support the Garda. It is easy for groups out there to attack the force. No organisation is perfect. There is not a police force in the world, not even in heaven above, without its flaws. We are proud of the Garda. It is incumbent on us to support gardaí when they become the subject of unacceptable criticism. A few weeks ago in Dublin, I was walking along the street when an altercation took place. Two young gardaí were attempting to arrest a group of people who had clearly been in breach of the peace and a group of people gathered around them with mobile phones, sticking the phones literally into their faces and asking "What's your number? What's your number?" and all that type of thing. There is a fine line between civil liberty and harassment of the Garda and I, for one, would come down on the side of the latter.

Members have heard me speak ad nauseam about our gas security. I ask the Leader to try to get the Minister for Communications, Climate Act and Environment, Deputy Naughten, into the House to give us an update on our energy security into the future, particularly in the supply of gas. I am delighted to tell the House that the Shannon LNG project, in which I have been very involved and supported for almost 12 years, is about to come to fruition with new investors. It is facing one final hurdle, which is an attempted injunction next month. We will let that case take its course. Work should, I hope, begin in January, with 500 valuable jobs for us in the mid-west region. I seek that debate.

In congratulating Senator Freeman on being nominated to run for the presidency, and all the other successful candidates who have come through the nomination process, let me compliment the local authorities. The local authorities did their own thing. The Constitution allows for local authorities to nominate. It was not the practice in the past. It is very much the practice of the present and into the future and I like that. The more candidates who are nominated the better. I hope we will have a good, straight, honest debate. I will keep a close eye on how these debates are handled by the media, in particular, by RTÉ.

I congratulate our colleague, Senator Lynn Ruane, on the publication of her autobiography, People Like Me. I was glad to be in Trinity College Dublin last night for the launch. The Senator gave a wonderful interview to Mr. Vincent Browne. Senator Ruane would make one proud to be a colleague of hers in the Seanad. All the Civil Engagement Members deserve to be congratulated. They are a wonderful ginger group here and they certainly have made their presence felt.

I also welcome everyone back.

I see the Leader is in good form today. I am glad to be back. Today, outside Leinster House, the families of Defence Forces personnel are being forced to withstand gale force winds in order to be heard, as they seek respect for their loved ones. Today all of us here must give our support to the Defence Forces, with proper pay and respect. They protect us, rescue us and save us but what do we do for them? Very little.

The Defence Forces are the poorest paid in the public sector. They are salaried. They are not paid by the hour and many are on family income supplement because they cannot support their families on that salary. They are not provided with free accommodation or married quarters. They have to pay for school books and uniforms. Like every family, they must put food on the table as well as pay their mortgage. It is time the State recognised these men and women for what they do for us here and abroad. We applaud them and must show them the respect they deserve. I was proud to stand beside those families outside and call out the Government for the appalling way it was treating them.

During the recent Papal visit, members of the Defence Forces slept on camp beds, were away from home for three days and received no extra pay, only an allowance. That is not good enough. I call on the Taoiseach to outline how he intends to support his Defence Forces in the upcoming budget.

I also raise the policing report. It is very important and I have listened to people speaking on it. We know the members of An Garda Síochána work extremely hard which we must respect. The biggest issue is resources. We need more gardaí and to give them more funding. Community policing is the biggest area that must be addressed. I am glad this report has been received. We must say well done. The gardaí are under a great deal of pressure and we need more of them.

I join the Leader in welcoming all our colleagues to the new session. No doubt everyone is suitably refreshed and ready for the fray. I have already said hello to my good friend, Councillor David Maxwell, and his group and look forward to meeting them again before the day is out.

I very much welcome the Commission on the Future of Policing report. I listened with great interest to our colleague, Senator Michael McDowell, who spoke on the matter on the radio this morning. I very much agreed with the views on the late Senator from the North. Senators will forgive me, it was our great friend from the North-----